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One-Day Mataram

Deconstructing the gentleman's game


A match of rarities

It's a piece of trivia that will make for an interesting quiz question some years down the line. Vinayak Samant, Mumbai wicket-keeper, took the field for West Indies, for about 2 overs, in the Champions Trophy match against Australia on October 18 2006. Not having enough fit players in the squad and with Brian Lara suffering from a bad back, West Indies were down to 10 men in the field when Suru Naik, the CCI secretary requested Vinayak Samant to come down to Brabourne and help out the West Indians.

Isn't it bizzare that a guy who must've had no hopes of breaking into the Indian national team (being 33 years of age and with wicket keepers like Dhoni around) got a chance to play in an ODI... and that too in a mini World Cup, no less!

Of course, this isn't the first time that something like this has happened. Apparently New Zealand's Hamish Marshall appeared as a substitue, in a Test Match for England in 1998. But it definitely is a rare occurence... quite like a bowler taking a hat-trick against the mighty Aussies!
And guess what... that happened in yesterday's match too!

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